[Back Beach]

In addition to being a friend to me, I will remember John as a man of vision and determination. I met John in the early 90’s through Roy Brouwer when John’s lure making business was in its infancy. On many occasions, John would come by Roy’s shop with a few of his creations. As if they were some kind of secret contraband, John would whip out one of his needlefish and briefly flash it to us, which always inspired laughter amongst the three of us. Of course he was hoping we would oblige him and beg for a second look at the creation (which we always did) while he sought feedback on what he was doing.

From the beginning, John’s stated goal was to create the best line of wooden fishing lures possible. He frequently dealt with failure as we would return some of his early prototypes to him with cracked bodies and bubbled paint. What amazed me the most was his resiliency and how he dealt with early failure in hopes of someday achieving success with his lure making business. Several years ago I was speaking with him and mentioned that I still had a bunch of the early 90’s prototypes to which he responded, “Burn them, they’re an embarrassment.” I think they were sold in a yard sale a few years ago. Sadly, they’re priceless items now. Time went on and you guys know the rest of the story....his goals were realized and he became a renowned craftsman.

Second to being a great friend and family man, John deserves a great deal of credit for his achievements as a business owner. More specifically, the resurgence in popularity of wooden fishing lures came in no small part thanks to John; He helped spark a rebirth in what had become a lost art among the fishing community. In my mind, he was this generation’s Stan Gibbs.